Bengaluru does it again: Live heart carried to Chennai to donate life

Bengaluru, Dec 19: A live heart was transported from Bengaluru to Chennai yet again, the second time in two-and-half months, proving the excellence southern India has achieved in the field of health care.

City traffic police said they created a "green corridor" to facilitate unhindered transportation of the donor's heart from Manipal Hospital to HAL Airport- about 2.2 kms.

The child was declared brain dead last night and after taking consent from the patient's family, hospitals in the neighbouring states were alerted, Manipal Hospital officials said.

Following this, representatives from Chennai hospital arrived at Manipal hospital and after completing all the medical procedures the heart was carried to HAL Airport in an ambulance and from there it was flown to Chennai, they said.

Father of the donor child said, "The doctor told us that the child is brain dead, but his organs are functioning, then we decided to donate organs as it may help some one else and in that way our child will be alive...."

The heart will be used to help a two-and-half-year-old baby in Fortis Hospital in Chennai.

On September 3, a live heart was carried from the BGS Hospital in Bengaluru to Fortis Hospital in Chennai. In that case too, a heart harvested from a brain-dead woman in Bengaluru was flown to Chennai for transplantation.

Both the police in Bengaluru and Chennai ensure that the heart was safely reached to the destination. The transplantation surgery took around four hours.